"Seasteading" is an idea that sends me back to the late 1960s with its heady blend of science fiction and hippie utopianism. Except that in the case of The Seasteading Institute, it's not intended as fiction -- billionaire Peter Thiel, the Paypal founder, gave $1.5 million dollars to the institute, which is certainly real money -- and the utopianism is not necessarily hippie-flavored, though it rests on a bedrock of libertarianism.

The Seasteading Institute, based in California, was formed in 2008 by Wayne Gramlich and Patri Friedman to promote the founding of new, autonomous societies -- outside the rule of any nation -- on floating platforms. The institute's mission statement says:

"Seasteaders believe that governments shouldn't be like the cell phone carrier companies, with few choices and high customer-lock-in. Instead, we envision a vibrant startup sector for governments, with many small groups testing out innovative ideas as they compete to better serve their citizens' needs.

What do you think of floating cities?"Currently, it is very difficult to experiment with alternative social systems on a small scale; countries are so enormous that it is hard for an individual to make much difference. The world needs a place where those who wish to experiment with building new societies can go to test out their ideas. All land on Earth is already claimed, making the oceans humanity's next frontier."

Freelance technology writer Timothy B, Lee takes a critical stance in "The problem with seasteading." He says "dynamic geography" wouldn't work; people are tethered to their location by many ties and wouldn't want their floating city to move elsewhere.